In Honduras, a wave of deadly violence against media

March 29, 2010 3:52 PM ET

New York, March 29,
2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Honduran authorities to fully
investigate last week’s murders of two journalists, part of a month-long wave
of lethal violence that has resulted in the slayings of five reporters over all
and led to widespread self-censorship in the local media.

José Bayardo Mairena and Manuel Juárez, journalists for
radio stations Excélsior and Super 10, were attacked Friday while driving from Catacamas
and Juticalpa, in the province of Olancho, 75 miles (125 kilometers) north of Tegucigalpa. Around noon,
unidentified gunmen in a vehicle pulled alongside the journalists’ car and
fired at least 26 times, local press reports said. Mairena died at the scene,
while Juárez was pronounced dead in a hospital in Juticalpa, according to local
news outlets.

“We call on Honduran authorities to put an end to this
unprecedented wave of violence against the press,” said Carlos Lauría, CPJ’s
senior program coordinator for the Americas. “These attacks are
seriously restricting freedom of expression and undermine citizens’ right to be
informed on issues of public interest.”

Mairena, 52, a veteran journalist, handled general
assignments that included coverage of organized crime and a land dispute in the
Aguán region, Omar Said Mejia, owner of Super 10, told CPJ. Juárez, 54, was a
news presenter. Local authorities have not disclosed possible motives or identified
any suspects, Honduran press reports said.

A wave of deadly violence has battered the Honduran media as
five journalists have been killed this month. Unidentified attackers gunned
down Honduran journalist Nahúm
Palacios Arteaga in the city of Tocoa
on March 14. On March 11, radio reporter David
Meza was murdered in the city of La
Ceiba, in the Atlantic coast, under similar
circumstances. On March 1, reporter Joseph
Hernández Ochoa was slain in Tegucigalpa
in a shooting that left another journalist seriously wounded.

Investigators have not reported progress in any of the five
cases, local press reports said.
CPJ is investigating whether the killings were linked to the journalists’ work.

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